A Shrine to an Unknown God

YOUNG GOD

(tw for mentions of child marriage)

WE MATERIALIZE on top of the condominium Dahlia lives in. The sun is just beginning to set, the sky a swirl of purples and oranges. Two roof workers slave away on the far side of the roof. They freeze when we appear, dropping their tools and openly staring at us. One of them passes out.

"Oh, man," says the other. "Oh, what the fuck is the government up to now?"

Marisol scrunches up her face. She snaps. She does a lovely little jig. For a moment, she temporarily disappears, then just as quickly she reappears. Beads of sweat appear on her forehead. "I didn't realize how difficult this would be in America," she whispers to us. "I don't think I can get us off the roof."

Dahlia smiles at the roof worker. "Yeah, haha, the government," she agrees. "Definitely not at all because she's a young god or anything. It's always the government's fault. Can you tell us how to get down from here?"

"There's a stairwell that way," the man points over his shoulder. "But you need a key to use it—"

"Oh, it's fine," Ezra tells him, puffing out his chest. "I know how to pick a lock."

***

DAHLIA'S MOMS are sitting out on plastic chairs on the balcony, the sliding glass door open behind them. Dr. Rot, the blonde mom, jumps when she hears the front door open, spilling her drink. ("Shit! Oh, shit!") Dr. Boivin, the brunette mom, calmly turns her head.

Then she bursts out in tears.

Once Dr. Rot has gathered her composure, she turns to see who opened the door and also bursts out in tears.

Dahlia, like mothers, like daughter, also starts to sob.

Her moms push back their chairs and rush inside. I expect them to focus on their daughter, to hug her and never let her go.

But they hug all four of us, wrapping us up in their arms.

***

THE BOIVIN-ROTS GIVE all of us juice boxes, leftovers (a vegan pasta bake), and blankets. We "burrito ourselves" (Marisol's words; not mine) on the couch as the two of them pace in front of us. Out the window, the sun sets on the water, turning the sea golden.

Then the questions start.

"What the hell happened?" Dr. Rot asks.

The four of us look at each other. Do we tell them the truth? Do we come up with an elaborate lie? We should have come up with something before we faced anyone that might have missed us.

Dahlia clears her throat and raises her eyebrows as if asking us what to do. I nod at her.

"It's a long story," she explains. "And kind of unbelievable. It goes all the way back to the crash..."

***

APPARENTLY, AFTER WE mysteriously disappeared, we became known as "missing persons." The entire country was looking for us, and so was Greece. Even the "pigs" (what my friends all call the law enforcement officers) were in on it. We made national headlines.

As our disappearance went hand-in-hand with the disappearance of the sun, wild theories emerged. People thought we were a part of something called the "Illuminati" or the "New World Order." (Marisol is quick to inform all of us that those conspiracy theories are rooted in anti-semitism and therefore not as cool as others, such as the fake moon landing.) They thought we'd been abducted by aliens or taken hostage by the Russians. Skeptics thought we ran away and actually timed it with the sun's disappearance to raise these conspiracy theories. They also thought it might have been Ezra's fault, for obvious reasons. Or that we'd been kidnapped, sold into human trafficking, or killed.